March 2, 2024 Semarang, Java, Indonesia 65 days left of 138

This is us as we left the ship on our way to our bus. Today is a Discover Semarang excursion. Our guide said he was Javanese. I at first thought he said Japanese, this happens a lot when trying to listen to some of these strong accents speaking English. Today it was just my hearing as our guide speaks 7 different languages. He was well spoken in English. We learned that Java is home to 154 million people. He let us know that 87% are Muslim, 10% Christian, and 3% are Hindu and other religions. This is interesting as we just left Bali and they were mostly Hindu, and here we are not that far away and less than 3% are Hindu. Our guide went on to say that men need 5 things to be happy 1) House, 2) Wife, 3) Horse, 4) a Saber, and 5) a bird. He went on to say the Horse was transportation and could be a scooter or Toyota these days. The saber is a weapon to protect himself and his family. The bird can be anything that brings you happiness, dog, or cat. He laughed that the bird might bring the man happiness, but the bird not so much living in a cage.

I think I did a little better catching the flavor of their traffic. Notice the other side of the traffic, the scooters are everywhere, and the whole family will ride on one scooter. We were told that the government subsidies the gas for the scooters only.

Below you will notice a bike with a place for someone to take a ride or carry goods. 

Our first stop was to the Rainbow village and the flower market. There were multiple small shops that purchase their flowers from vendors outside of the city and sell them here.

Above was a shop owned and run by the woman on the right and named for her 12 year old son. The woman on the left is her 21 year old daughter. We were allowed to ask them questions and they were most gracious to answer them in English. These women work from 8 am until 10 pm.

The picture on the left was decorations on the tree. I don't know if they were for sale, or just recycling to pass the time and make their space pretty. 

The picture to the right shows the back side of the flower shops.                                                          

Above were beautiful Orchids.  To the left is Mike and I next to their river. Notice the rainbow of colors that are painted on the rocks lining the river. We spoke with another woman who had a little mini mart, very well maintained. They started renovating in 2017, and it continues to be a work in progress. Everything was clean and neat. She and her family live behind the store.  

                          

There are street vendors everywhere. If you look that is a license plate for the scooter that this is built around so he can ride it home.

Above was the gate of Sam Poo Kong the temple for 3 important people.

They have male and female lions guarding the entrance to the temple. You can tell the male from the female as the male on the right has a ball signifying the world under its paw, the female has its paw on her cubs on the left.

There were 3 temples on the grounds.

This is in memory of Zheng He 1371 - 1435. He was a Hui Chinese Mariner, Explorer, Diplomat, and Fleet Admiral who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, The Middle East and East Africa.

British Naval historian, Galvin Menzies believed that a small number of his fleet found America in 1421.

Below I am doing my best impression of a Viking tour guide.

Now for the story of the day. Mike discovers that he did not put any money in his pocket before we left the ship. That means we don't have any tip money with us. We weren't with any familiar Viking guest. I told Mike I had seen people we could ask, but at the temple I saw no one. Sooo I saw the lady sitting next to us on the bus, so I approached her and she was more than glad to assist us. When we returned to our stateroom, Mike got the cash out with a tip and I put it in an envelope with one of our cards and a big Thank you. Now back to the rest of our excursion.

Above was a water feature along the road.

To the left is a Muslim call to prayer tower.

Below was a lady carrying her wares she is selling. She was crossing a very busy road. These people must have nerves of steel, and nine lives to cross these roads on a regular basis.

Next stop was a Protestant Church.

This is the oldest church in Java. It was built in 1753. There are services there weekly on Sundays.

The picture on the left was one of the stained glass windows.

Above is where the Minister preaches.

On the right is the beautiful original organ. It is a shame that it is not functional at this time.

We walked from our bus to the above church and back. These are pictures I took on the walk. Above I love when manhole covers are decorated. I have been collecting pictures of them during my travels.

The wall and door on the left was not the only example of this I saw in the town. Buildings on the whole are better cared for here then in Bali. Everything is cleaner, and people are industrious. I love seeing people take pride in where they live.

Notice the light pole in the picture below. There were many of these in this area lining the streets.

The photo to the left is showing a street food vender, and people enjoying a lunch break in the shade of the overpass. Today it is 84 degrees, and humidity is high. We all are melting.

Below is a small 3 wheeled van loaded to the max.

Back to the ship after a successful adventure into Semarang.

Tonight we have a Singer and Piano Man.

If you think we look like we are having a good time you would be right. This is Dale and Carol our friends from Kansas City, MO. Sadly they will be heading home early when we arrive in Singapore in on the 14th.

What a fun evening. We were entertained with songs from Billy Joel, and Elton John. He had one couple up dancing, and all of us singing along.